Wire-fabric machine



H. W. BLUEMKER. WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. I7. 1919.

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WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

- APPLICATION FILED ocr. I7. 1919.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

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H. Wl BLOENIKER.

WIRE` FABRIC MACHINE.

APlfLlcATloN FILED 001217, 1919.

Patented Apr. 20,1920.

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NED STATES PATENT GFF-ICE.

HENRY W. BLOED/IEEE, GF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNOR TO JOHNHANCOCK, OF HILADEQHIA, EENNSYLVANIA.

WIRE-FABRIC MACHINE.

@season Specification of Letters atent.

Patented Apr. 20, 19.20.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, HENRY W. BLOEM- nnn, acitizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county ofPhiladelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful improvements in VVire-Fabric Machines, of which the following isa speciiication.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide means forforming a wire fabric the units of which have a predetermined shapesuccessively repeated throughout the body of the fabric; to providemeans for respectively feeding a strand of wire and bending it in apredetermined manner; to provide means for successively shaping aplurality of connected units from a single strand of wire; to providemeans for automatically bending and shaping a strand of wire into asubstantially form having a pair or offset loops therein; to providemeans for automatically bending shaping a strand of wire to orin aplurality of units of predetermined shape in conjunction with means forarranging said units in interconnected relation in the sameplane andlineally alined; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafterappear.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of one form oiwire fabric forming machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2represents one of the complete units of the product formed by themachine; 3 represents a detail in plan ot one pair oi` the forming jaws;Fig. 4 represents a section showing a pair of the forming aws in sideelevation; Fig. 5 represen' a sido elevation of the machine; l (irepresents an enlarged detail in side L elevation of the holdingmechanism at the delivery end 'ot the machine; F T represents an endelevation of one form of the wire feeding mechanism; Fig'. 8 representsa side elevation of the saine; Fia'. 9 represents a section on line 9 9of Fig. 1; Fig. 10 represents a section on line 10-10 of lig. 1; Fig. 11represents a section on me 11-11 ot Fig. 1Q: Fig. 12 represents the wireafter the rst forming operation; F 13 represents the wire after thesecond operation; and 14 represents a detail in section on line 14--1/42of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings one form of the present invention. is shown inFigs. l

and wherein the operating parts of the machine are supported upon a maintrame 1Q of open construction having two, suitably spaced, side top bars11 of suitable rigid material to support, accommodate and convenientlyprovide for the moving parts.

For transmitting' motion to the several mechanisms of the machine a mainshaft 12 is provided which is arranged to be driven from a suitablesource oi' power, in this instance a belt driven pulley 13 'l'ast to theshaft 12 and an idle pulley ll'while a well known type of belt shifter15 provides for starting and stopping the machine. From the shaft 12power is transmitted by a low speed gearing 16 and 17 to a counter-shaft1S journ'aled in suitable bearings 2O in the main frame 10. Thiscounter-shaft 1S has keyed thereon a bevel gear Z1 in mesh with asimilar gear Q2 fast to an operating shaft Q3 which extends lengthwiseof the frame 10 and has a second bevel gear 2-1 keyed thereon andarranged in mesh with a bevel gear fast upon a second counter-sha t 26,this last being jonrnaled in suitable bearings on the frame 10. i

For guiding and feeding thc wire 8() to themachine, a guide tube 31 isrigidly supported in Vbrackets 32 and 33, respectively carried by crossbars 34E and 35 which are tast to the main frame 10. The tube 31 isarranged substantially horizontal and in alinement with a suitable wirestraightening device 36 of any well known orin. The wire is fed to thetube 31 by a step by step mechanism consisting, in one form of a block40 mounted vfor sliding movement upon a rod 41 and having a pair ofspaced ears 42 which are suitably apertured for the passage of the wire30. Pivoted to the block fl-O at opposite sides of the wire 30 are twoknife edge feed fingers 113 which are arranged to have suiiicientmovement in order to slide freely along the wire 3() in one direction ofmovement but to bite the wire in the other direction of movement of theblock 40 and thus advance a predetermined length of the wire into themachine. Two stop pins 44 are respectively located and fixed adjacentthe said fingers 43 to limit the swing thereof at one side, while one ofthe ears L12 serves the same purpose at the opposite side. The block 40is reciprocated intermittently by means of a lever having a pin and slotconnection d6 with the block 4.0 and also a pivotal connection 17intermediate of its length, with an arm which is ixed to the frame 10.The outer end of the lever has a lost motion connection 51 with anoperating rod 52V which is actuated by a moving part hereinafter to bedescribed.

'For bending and forming tl e wire to the particular predetermined shapetwo sets of dies 53 and 54 are provided, the one being a duplicate o1cthe other, said dies being respectively carried by heads 55 and 56 whichare slidably mounted on two parallel guide rods 57 and ils the operatingparts-of the dies 53 and 54C are similar, the description will beconlined to one set. Re' terring to Fig. 4l, the complemental die parts53 are carried respectively by jaw members 60 and 61 which are pivotedrespectively at 62 and 63 to the head which is suitably cut away toaccommodate the parts in a compact manner. At the die side of thefulcrum of the jaws a compression spring 64 is mounted and acts tonormally held the two die parts separated. rllhe ends ot the jaw members60 and 61 are extended to form relatively long lever arms which whenspaced or forced apart will exert suilicient pressure upon the dies toshape the wire in accordance with the configuration of the dies.

For operating the jaws 60 and 61 in the required manner each pair isarranged to straddle a separate cam 65, the two cams 65 being iixed to asquare rock-shaft which is mounted in a suitable manner lor rockingmovement in brackets 67 extended from and fast to the iframe 10. rloimpart rocking movement to the shaft 66 an arm 70 is fixed thereto andhas pivoted connection with a link 71 which in turn is pivoted to an arm72 suspended 'trom and y movable on a pivot 73 on a cross of the frame10. rllhis arm 72 carriesa rigid trip linger 75 located in the path et acani roller 76 on a cani member 77 which is fixed to rotate with theshaft 23. vrl`hus when the cam roller 76 strikes the trip 75 therock-shaft 66 will be turned in one direction. For turning the saidshalt 66 in the other direction, that is, to its initial position, asecond arm 80 is suspended by a pivot 81 on the cross-bar 711 andconnected to the arm 72 by a link Q2 T his arm 80 Uu. carries a trip 84also arranged in the path of the cam-roller 76. Y

As a means for reciprocating` the die head 55, a connecting rod isprovided having one end pivoted in ears 66 rigid with the head 55 andits other end connected t' a lar connecting rod is provided having oneend pivoted in ears 91 rigid with the head 56 and its other endconnected to a crank arm 92 fast to the face of a disk 93 which isarranged to rotate with the countershaft 1S.

In connection with the operation of the heads 55 and 56 it should benoted that the shafts 18 and 26 are geared to rotate at the same speed,and the operating connections are such that the two heads 55 and 56 movein synchronism, first toward each other to a predetermined position andthen from each other a predetermined distance in order that the desiredforming operations may be carried out.

For the purpose of ending the wire at substantially right angles to itspath of movement through the machine to 'form the side legs of thefabric unit and to also form a relatively long narrow loop a pusher ortraveling bending rod 9i is mounted for reciprocating movement upon theframe 10 in a position to travel transversely of the path oi movement ofthe wire and in the plane thereof in order to engage the wire. Furtherthe rod 941 is located between and substantially eqnidistant from thetwo jaw heads and 541- and in meeting position oiE the said headsoccupies the space lbetween them, there being su'tlicient clearance topermit free movement of the bending rod 9i. rllhe space referred to isprovided by adjusting the stroke of the heads a will be readilyunderstood.

In order to reciprocate the rod it is connected by a pin and slotconnection 95 with a pivoted rock-arm 96 which carries a roller 97located in the path of movement of a cam 100 fast to the shaft 23. Thecontour of the cam 100 is such as to advance the bending rod 9d with aneven, uniform motion during the bending operation but is sharply cutaway to permit a quick return of the rod 9-l to remove it promptly sothat the next wire feeding step may take place. This return movement iseffected b v a weight 101 suspended on a cable 102 which passes over apulley 103 and is made tast to the rod 9dat 101.

For holdingthe wire and keeping it in position while under the action oftne bending rod 94e, a V-shaped seat 105 formed in the end of the rod94. to receive the wire, while at opposite sides oi' the shank of therod 94 are two laterally disposed lingers 106, preferably havinginclined end surfaces 107 which prevent the wire from riding up out ofthe plane or'I its lateral movement.

F or guiding the shaped wire while it is being transferred from one dieto another, and Yfrom the last die to the delivery portion the machine,a receiving table 110 is pro- .fided leading from the delivery side otthe dies El and having a fixed hat strip 111 secured thereto, which hasan extended and downwardly curved tongue 112 located at the receiif'ingside of the die head 56 in such a manner that the wire meets the saidtongue 11.2 and is guided thereby upwardly to a position where it can beseated in the die 5e. The table 110 has a pin 113 lined in its sidewalls ont of the path of the wire and to which is pivot d a plate 11dprovided with two upwardly and inwardly turned flanges 115 and 116 forretaining the foriied wire and guiding it across the delivery table 110in a smooth and orderly manner. The flange 115, which is in close pro'mity to the die is pre-i led with a linger 117 arranged to the wire andcause it to be seated in the die prior to the last forming step. rthisfinger 11.7 also serres to prevent displacement of the wire whenreleased from die 511 and to direct it beneath the flange 115 when it isted to the delivery table.

For raisingv and lowering the plate 11d with its flanges the die headhas thereto arigid bracket 120 provided with an integral member 121 towhich a tumbler 122 is pivoter in such a manner as to be posiH tionedbeneath the Jfree end of the plate 114; and serve as a support theretor.The tumbler 122 carries a lng 123 arranged to pro- Iiect in the path ofmovement of a minable trip 12e rig'd with a rod 125 having a bearin forsliding movement in the member 121. end of the rod 125 is provided withan abutment 125 arranged to be struck by the die head 55, as it advancesto meet the head 56y in order to shift the rod 125 in one direction7while the other end of the rod 125 is of suflieient length to projectbeyond the end of the bracket 120 and engage a fixed trip 127 mounted inan adjustable manner upon the rod 57. ln the position oi the parts shownin Fig. 6 the tumbler 122 has heen lifted by the trip 12d to raise theguide plate 115e and this latter is returned to its normal retainingposition by of a weight 12S which acts when the rod 125 has been shiftedto remove the trip 12e'r 'from the supporting position. From theforegoing it will be apparent that while the table 110 is stationary itcarries a pivoted flanged guide structure 114, 115 and 113 having alongitudinally disposed strip 111 which projects at the receiving end inthe form of a curved tongue. rlhe object of this construction is toallow the finished fabric to move freely away from the dies withoutbecoming bent, entangled or otherwise distorted while the successiveforming operations continue, Thus when the last forming step upon one etthe units is completed the plate 11e raised automatically enough tora'se the wire out of the die that the next feeding operation merelypushes the length ot cont pl ted units along the plate 114 where the areprevented from buckling upward by the flanges 115 and 116. As soon asthe new unit length is in place the plate 1111 lowers and the finger 117attends to placing the formed pin in the second die 5t.

In Figs. 7 and 8 another form of intermittent wire feeding mechanism isshown wherein the wire 3() is directed from the straightening mechanism36 to a guide bushing 130 fixed to a trarne lol and arranged inalinement with two super-posed feed rolls 132 and 133, the former ofwhich has a peripheral face of constant diameter and the latter aperipheral face of two diameters. The roll 132 is fixe-'l to rotate witha stud shaft 13st driven by a gear which is in mesh with a gear 136 fastto a stud haft 137 upon which thel mutilated or intermittent feed roll133 is fixed. The gears 135 and 136 are driven from any suitable sourceand rotate the two rolls at the saine speed. The distance between thetwo shafts is adjusted. to bring the enlarged dia-meter portion 13S ofthe roll 133 into relatively close proximity to the peripheral face ofthe roll 1.32 so that the wire 30 is gripped and fed forward into thtube 31 as will be-understood.

ln the operation of the machine the wire eaves the straightening device35 and is i forward intermittently by the feed 1 chanism, carried by thereciprocating block 40, passing through the guide tube 31 and enteringthe open jaws of the die 5 3.

The movement of the cam 77 is so timed as to rock the shaft 66 at theinstant the wire 30 is seated in the die and consequently the canispreads the fia* i arms G0 and 61 to bring the die parts together. Theresult is a bending of the wire to the shape shown in Fig. 12. ith thisaccomplished the shaft 66 rocks back, removing the cam 65 so that thedie 53 opens, whereupon the wire 30 is again fed forward a distancesuflicient to locate the termed portion in the second die 5l. Dit thetime there is length of wire extending between the two dies 53 and andhaving its ends positioned in the respective dies. Again the shaft G6rocks, thereby rlosing both dies and simultaneously' the dies "need townd each other by the acf' rods S5 and 90. ,ln t il be noted that the tingroe i vta ched to the head thereby actuated to shift the feedingmechanism baclr to a position for the nefrt .vire feeding step.

its the two heads and 5G move toward each other the rain 100 causes thebending rod 94 to move and carry the wire laterall)Y outw"d between thedie headsn which at the end of, the stroke press the wire against thesides of the rod 94 with the result that the long loop shown in F ig. 13is formed. one leg forming a side of one unit and the other leg formiaside of the other unit. As soon as this is completed the rod 94; is

i insegno/i shot out of the way by the weight 101, the jaw arms 60 and61, of the respective die heads 55 and 56, are released by the removalkof the rock-cam 65 and the dies open. Thile the die heads 55 and 56 areOpening the guide members 115 and 116 are supported by the tumbler 122and a new portion of the length of wire is fed forward so that when thedie head 56 reaches the end of its stroke the partially formed part ofthe new length is positioned above the die At this movement the rod 125strikes the trip 127 and is shifted to the left, as seen in Fig. 6,thereby removing the trip 121 as a support for the tumbler 122 and thelatter therefore drops, causing the weight 128 to lower the members 115and 116. This results in the proper placementof the wire in the die 54and also holds the length of formed wire in place upon the deliverytable 1111. 1When the die heads 55 and 56 move forward and approach theend of the i'neeting stroke the abutment 126 is struck by the head 55and shifts the rod 125 to the right, as seen in Fig. 6, thereby causingthe trip 124: to engage the lug 123 to raise and support the tumbler 122in a position to hold the members 115 and 116 raised so that the wire isfree to unseat and be fed forward upon the succeeding feed step.

The resulting product is a succession of units, shown in Fig. 2. formedfrom a continuous wire and having` a length determined by the size ofthe desired fabric, as it will be evident that any number of units maymake up a section and it is only necessary to cut the wire as required.

Thile but one form of the present invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be Obvious that the invention is not limited to anyspecific construction but might be applied in various forms withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent of the United States:

1` A wire fabric machine comprising in combination, means for feedinglength of wire intermittently, a die arranged to receive and form aportion. of said wire into a predetermined shape, means for opening andclosing said die in timed relation with respect to said feeding` means,a second die arranged to receive the shaped portion of said wire, andmeans to form a loop in the portion of said wire between. said dies.

2. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination` means for feeding` alength of wire intermittently, a die arranged to receive and form aportion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means for opening andclosing said die in timed relation with respect to said feeding means, asecond die arranged t0 receive the shaped portion of said wire, means toform a loop in the portion of said wire between said dies, and meansadjacent said second die for retaining and guiding said wire.

3. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination, means for feeding alength of wire intermittently, a die arranged to receive and form aportion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means for opening andclosing said die in timed relation with respect to said feeding means, asecond die arranged to receive the shaped portion of said wire, means toform a loop in the portion of said wire between said dies, meansadjacent said second die for retaining and guiding said wire, and meansfor raising and lowering said guiding means in timed relation to saidfeeding means.

-1-. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding`a length of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged tosuccessively receive and form a portion of said wire into apredetermined shape, means operative to respectively open and close saiddies simultaneously at the beginning and end of a feeding operation, andmeans arranged to operate in closed position of said dies to form a loopin the portion of said wire between said dies.

5. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding alength of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged tosuccessively receive and form a portion of said wire into apredetermined shape, means operative to respectively open and close saiddies simultaneously at the beginning and end of a feeding operation,means arranged to operate in closed position of said dies to form a loopin the portion of said wire between said dies, and means adjacent saidsecond die for retaining and guiding said wire.

6. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding alength of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged tosuccessively receive and form a portion of said wire into apredetermined shape, means operative to respectively open and close saiddies simultaneously at the beginning and end of a feeding operation,means arranged to operate in closed position of said dies to form a loopin the portion of said wire between 4said dies, means adjacent saidsecond die for retaining and guiding said wire, and means toautomatically raise and lower said guiding means.

7. A wire fabric machine, comprising in combination means for feeding alength of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged tosuccessively receive and forni a portion of said wire into apredetermined shape, means to simultaneously close said dies after awire feeding step to shape said wire, means to move one 0f said dies to-Ward the other die, and means arranged to operatey during the movementof said die to form a loop in tne portionwot the Wire between said dies.

8. A Wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding` alength of Wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged tosuccessively receive and i'orm a portion or said Wire into apredetermined shape, means to simultaneously close said dies after aWire feeding step to slape said Wire, means to open said diessimultaneously after a forming operation, and a bending device arrangedto orm a loop in the portion of the Wire between said dies.

9. A Wire fabric machine comprising in combination, means for feeding alength of Wire intermittently, means including a pair of dies forsuccessively receiving and forming a portion of said vire intopredetermined shape, and means arranged to bend the portion of said Wirebetween said dies into a relatively long loop.

l0. A Wire a ric machine comprising in combination means for feeding alength or Wire intermittently7 means including a pair ot dies Jforsuccessively receiving and forming a portion orP said Wire into apredeten mined shape, means for moving said dies toward each other, andmeans operating simultaneously With the movement of said dies andtransversely to the direction of movement thereoiLl for bending theportion of Wire between said dies into a relatively long loop.

ll. A Wire 'fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding alength of wire intermittently, means including a pair ot for su'cessively receiving and form 'ng a portion orn said Wire into apredeternined shape; means for moving said dies 'ovfard each other,means operating simultaneously .vitli the movement of said dies andtransversely to the direction of move ment thereof tor bending theportion of Wire between said dies into arelatively long loop, and aquick return mechanism for shi said bending means ont of operativeengagementvvith said Wire.

l2. fr wire fabric machine comprising in combination means Jfor feedinga length ot Wire intermittently, means ior bending said Wire to apredetermined shape, a receiving table at the delivery end of said mai'i (i185 chine a. 'aivoted device for 0uidinO the 7 l :n a

formed Wire to said table, and means for raising and lowering saiddevice in timed relation to the movement of said Wire.

ln Witness whereof 1 have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of October,1919.

HENRY W. BLOEMKER.

